Pregnancy outcomes compared in women with mechanical heart valve replacements anticoagulated with warfarin and enoxaparin in pregnancy.

The anticoagulation of choice for mechanical heart valves is the oral anticoagulant warfarin. Warfarin is associated with increased risk of miscarriage, intrauterine fetal deaths and warfarin embryopathy. This longitudical cross-over study of 5 women observed all 5 having livebirths of healthy infants after heparin-managed pregnancies. Their earlier 8 pregnancies had all resulted in perinatal losses or miscarriages when on regimes based on warfarin.